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Deputy Sarah Hansmann Rouxel has accepted a caution following a Code of Conduct complaint against her, but she's also blamed the States, and the lack of training given to newly elected politicians, saying that led her to breach data protection rules.
The Vale Deputy was elected in 2016, and within months she had inadvertently breached the Code of Conduct leading a parishioner to complain.
As well as admitting she did lose the paperwork, and that it was her mistake which led to her caution, Deputy Hansmann Rouxel said she was pleased that a number of other "unsubstantiated allegations against me, including slurs on my person and character" were all dismissed by the panel.
She told the States yesterday that she has always "acted with integrity, and the Panel's judgment has upheld my good character."
Today I gave a personal statement in the Assembly. I thank members who have supported me in doing so and I will continue to look forwards to make sure that things are made better so that my experience is never repeated. pic.twitter.com/bZI199754H
— Sarah HansmannRouxel (@SarahHRouxel) February 28, 2019
Within her speech she referred back to the training given to herself and other newly elected Deputies who were voted into the States in April 2016, saying that "there is a growing recognition among States Members that our exposure in respect of data protection is wholly unacceptable, and the support available to us is entirely lacking. I have found this out at substantial personal cost to myself and my family over the past two years."
She has claimed the induction given to newly elected States Members was "completely inadequate" and that the section on data protection "dealt only with digital safety, nothing about the physical handling of paperwork." This is what has led to her received a caution for breaching the Code of Conduct, which she says she fully accepts.
However, Deputy Sarah Hansmann Rouxel says the civi service, which is there to support politicians in their States Committee roles, do not offer any help with constituency work.
"Neither the civil service nor the other extensive resources of the States are available to support us in our parliamentary and parish duties, except where they touch on Committee matters. So much so that I have had to rely on independent legal support throughout the period of the data protection complaint, because I could not use the advice of the Law Officers."
Deputy Hansmann Rouxel says the States must make changes going forward as she and others cannot carry on taking responsibility for data protection on an individual basis.
Pictured: Deputy Sarah Hansmann Rouxel is the States Disability Champion.
"After all I have been through in the past two years, what I am forced to say now, is that I cannot continue to take on the responsibility. In what business would a person take on a job where they become personally liable for system failings in the business? In which they cannot rely on the business for support, because in some of their important functions they are treated as a third party, an independent? It is not an acceptable position."
Referencing her own mental health, Deputy Hansmann Rouxel wants the States to address the training and induction given to newly elected States Members to protect them from the current level of personal risk they face.
"This experience has taken its toll on me and my family. I feel I have been harassed and intimidated throughout the period of the complaint. I have had to recognise the damage it has done to my mental health. I have been reluctant to say that out loud. We send the message out to the community that Mental Health Issues shouldn’t stigmatise people and follow policies which support mental health first aid being just as important as first aid for your physical health, but in the highly charged atmosphere of politics we hold ourselves to a different standard. We have to take more care with each other.
"The exposure and lack of support for deputies completing parish work is very real and in light of my experience I have scaled down the individual casework I am able to take on while States Members continue to be exposed to an unacceptable level of personal risk in the management of such cases.
"For the last two years, I feel the complainant has pursued grievances against me through every channel available. I fear that this will continue. I have been left without support and I am still dealing with the fallout. But I have used my experience to try and improve matters for fellow States Members and to leave a better legacy for 2020. I have provided feedback to the civil service and to SACC on processes, on training and on support. Some improvements have already been made. The need for others has been recognised. The Code of Conduct Panel has found no bad motive or bad character on my part, and I hope that is where this matter will finally end."
Pictured top: Deputy Sarah Hansmann Rouxel.
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